Hotel Castello di Castolle, a 14th-century resort in Tuscany, took first place in a Top 15 ranging from Irish piles to a Versailles palace and 19th century Swiss hideaway.

Remarkably, Irish hotels also took the top four places in Travel + Leisure's Top 5 Resort Hotels in the UK & Ireland, with Ballyfin, Ashford Castle and Sheen Falls joined by the Powerscourt Resort in fourth place.

"This was a particularly strong year for Ireland," the magazine comments, pointing out that both Ashford Castle and Sheen Falls Lodge have recently undergone significant renovations, "which speaks to our readers’ appreciation for something newly fashionable (albeit still old-world)".

Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards, published in July, feature the top islands, cities, hotels, airports and cruise lines as voted by the influential magazine's readers.

And it is influential. Travel + Leisure has almost one million print subscribers, with an average household income of $291,000 and a median age of 51.

With North American tourist numbers to Ireland up 20.9pc to almost 629,000 from April to June, that's precisely the kind of visitor Tourism Ireland is trying to attract.

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